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22 there. He said it is also wise to think about having agreed upon building standards, such as 1 energy efficiency, resource efficient, maintenance efficient, etc. 2 Mayor Hemminger said she is excited about this process, and the Town’s housing 3 partners are also eager to be a part of this discussion. 4 5 g) Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) Policy 6 7 Travis Myren reviewed the following information: 8 A nine member Board of Directors governs the Orange Water & Sewer Authority (OWASA). 9 The Chapel Hill Town Council appoints five members, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen appoints 10 two members, and the Orange County Board of Commissioners appoints two Board Members. 11 The OWASA Board adopts the annual budget; sets rates, fees and charges; approves bond 12 issues to fund capital projects; makes policy decisions; and appoints the Executive Director, 13 General Counsel and independent auditor. The fees associated with connecting to OWASA 14 infrastructure have been cited as one of the barriers to constructing low cost, affordable 15 housing. This item is intended to serve as a point of discussion for how the appointing Boards 16 could work with their appointees to the OWASA Board of Directors to potentially reduce the 17 cost of the connections for affordable housing developments. 18 19 Karen Stegman left at 9:43 p.m. 20 21 Travis Myren said the OWASA management provided a three-page handout, which 22 provides the trajectory for OWASA’s fees. 23 Mayor Hemminger said the Chair and Mayors met to discuss approaching OWASA 24 together about opportunities, and this is a result of those conversations. 25 Mary Tiger, OWASA Sustainability Manager, reviewed the following information: 26 27 OWASA Fees for New Service Connections, As It Pertains to Affordable Housing 28 Initiatives and Other Community Purposes 29 March 22, 2018 30 Prepared by OWASA staff for the March 22, 2018 Orange County Board of County 31 Commissioners and Chapel Hill Town Council Joint Meeting 32 33 OWASA values that safe and affordable water and wastewater services are fundamental to the 34 health of our local community, environment, and economy. We are committed to providing high-35 quality and reliable services in a cost-effective way for the entire community. We recognize that, 36 in some cases, this is still not enough and the cost of connecting to OWASA’s infrastructure 37 can be a hardship. OWASA understands the importance of affordable housing for our 38 community. 39 40 The following memo describes efforts underway that will lessen the cost to connect. We will 41 continue to work with our community partners to identify viable strategies for the affordability of 42 water and wastewater service. 43 44 Statutes and Agreements Governing OWASA’s Rates and Fees 45 NC Statute 162A does not provide OWASA the authority to reduce or waive rates, fees or 46 charges for any customer or customer class based on income or public purpose. A summary of 47 the pertinent statutes and agreements is provided in Attachment 1. 48 49 NC Session Law 2017-138 50